Despite an already impressive playoff beard, Patrik Laine is just gearing up for his first playoff run in the NHL.

Calgary Flames at Winnipeg Jets

6 p.m., MTS Center; TV: Sportsnet West; Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan

THE BIG MATCHUP

Flames D Mark Giordano vs. Jets RW Patrik Laine

Despite an already impressive playoff beard, Patrik Laine is just gearing up for his first playoff run in the NHL. At 19, the big Finn has an impressive shot and will be a tough customer for the Flames captain. Giordano, still trying to lead by example and maintain pride as a group, was one of the hardest working players in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Coyotes on home ice.

FIVE STORYLINES

1. HAMMER’S BACK

Travis Hamonic ditched the yellow jersey on Wednesday and traded it for his normal black silks. It’s a good indication that the Flames defender and native of St. Malo, Man., will suit up in one of the two final remaining regular-season games. Hamonic has missed two games with an upper-body injury/suspected concussion. “He’s a possibility,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan. “As soon as we see how he feels, we’ll probably know in the morning.”

2. POWERPLAY OUTAGE

It’s been a terrible stretch for the Flames as they limp towards the finish line of 2017-18. But worse yet, their power play has been deplorable. They haven’t scored a man-advantage goal in 12 games and have gone 1-for-48 in the last 17 games. While they had seven high-danger scoring chances (as per NaturalStatTrick.com) during their one opportunity in Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, they continue to struggle. That being said, they’ve lost eight of their last nine games and have only scored 11 goals during that span. Yikes!

3. START HANDING OUT THE TOWELS

Brace yourselves, the white-out in Winnipeg is just around the corner. But at 50-20-10 and 110 points on the season, one can’t help but marvel at the team’s dominance during the regular season. “This team finds a way,” said Jets goalie Steve Mason, who made 35 saves on Tuesday in what was his first start since suffering a knee injury in a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers. “We can beat you in all different types of ways. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of this team and a lot of fun to watch these guys night-in and night-out. There are a lot of good pros on this team in here.”

4. THE KID IS ALRIGHT

In his NHL debut on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens, Jets prospect D Sami Niku logged 18 shifts, 15:13 of ice-time and played on a pairing with Dustin Byfuglien. Oh, and he also scored his first NHL goal in the team’s eventual 5-4 overtime win, going five-hole on Habs superstar goalie Carey Price. “We were talking about antifreeze in the veins,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice of Niku. “That’s the way it looked, pretty cool out there … the skill-set that he has is impressive.” The 21-year-old from Haapavesi, Finland, was drafted in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft and has played 71 games with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

5. MORE ON THE JETS

The Jets lately have rested G Connor Hellebuyck, D Jacob Trouba, D Josh Morrissey, RW Blake Wheeler, C Mark Sheifele and C Adam Lowry, making way for some other faces to step into the lineup … That being said, offensive stud RW Patrik Laine was not one of the horses that sat out of Tuesday’s game and snapped a seven game goal-less skid. He trails Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin by two goals in the race for the Rocket Richard Trophy. “Yeah, it’s probably not a race any more, but it’s still fun,” said Laine. “It’s been fun competing with him, just kind of chasing him the whole season.”

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